National Lottery funding has helped to set up Wales’ first community dodgeball club for children in Pontypridd.
The Rhondda Dragons Dodgeball Club have had an adults team for the last five years, but the club has now branched out to cater for the large numbers of children who would like to play dodgeball outside of school.
The club were awarded £770 from Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund – which uses National Lottery funding – to help the new junior section become established. As a new club, they were eligible for funding to pay for ten weeks’ worth of sports hall hire at Hawthorn Leisure Centre, while they also used their grant to buy new equipment and to pay for coaching courses to upskill their volunteers.
Dodgeball has been a firm favourite in schools for many years, and it scored highly in Sport Wales’ 2022 School Sport Survey which captured the views of children across the country on what they like and don’t like about sport. The survey results suggest that there are 101,000 children in Wales who would like more opportunities to play dodgeball.
Rhondda Dragons Dodgeball Club founder Scott Esnouf was keen to capitalise on that interest by giving young people a chance to join a community club which also offers a pathway for them to continue enjoying the sport as adults.
Scott said: “Dodgeball is a real favourite in schools, so I wanted to set up a junior section at our club and we were thrilled to receive support from Sport Wales and the National Lottery. For the first couple of months, we were getting a handful of regulars, but everything really started to take off once we partnered with the Sport Development Team at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council who helped coordinate dodgeball taster sessions in the local primary schools. They were really popular and now we have over 20 regulars turning up for our club every Monday.”
Scott added: “We don’t want lack of funds to be an issue, so we price our sessions at £2.50 to ensure that those from a poorer background are not excluded, and there are no equipment or kit costs for the children. All our coaches are volunteers, and we have got great support from our local leisure centre as well to help keep the sports hall cost down. As a multi-aged and mixed gender sport, the sessions enable siblings to train together, making it easier for parents too. Anyone can play dodgeball and we really want to encourage the fun side of sport.”
Owen Hathway, Sport Wales’ Assistant Director – Insight, Policy and Public Affairs, said: ““We know from the School Sport Survey that children and young people really want a fun, accessible and enjoyable experience in sport. Being able to try different types of sport and having new experiences with friends is really important.
“This club is a great example of how a passionate individual, support from the local authority and Sport Wales’ funding can create a club that meets local sporting needs. Having a resource like the Be Active Wales Fund – thanks to National Lottery players – can really make the difference needed to develop more inclusive Welsh communities and get our young people active.”
Scott is also working with the local authority and primary schools to launch a Primary School League, capitalising on the momentum already built up, and responding to the demand to see more dodgeball opportunities in Wales.
Thanks to players of the National Lottery, more than £30 million a week goes to good causes across the UK through initiatives such as Sport Wales’ Be Active Wales Fund. If you would like to find out more about how the Be Active Wales Fund could be used to help develop more sporting opportunities for all members of your local community.
For further details about the Rhondda Dragons Dodgeball Club, please follow @RhonddaDragons on social media.
